Joss Whedon To Write & Direct 'Avengers 2'

UPDATE: Marvel Studios has weighed in with a statement that confirms the 2015 release date that Deadline had heard about the sequel to The Avengers. “Joss Whedon has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Studios for film and television through the end of June 2015. As part of that deal, Whedon will write and direct Marvel’s The Avengers 2 as well as help develop a new live action series for Marvel Television at ABC. He will also contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe.”

EARLIER, 5:27 PM EST: Well, this didn’t exactly seem much of a cliffhanger, but Disney CEO Bob Iger announced at today’s earnings call that Joss Whedon will be back to write and direct a second installment of The Avengers. Not only that; Whedon, who took the subpar film Buffy The Vampire Slayer and turned it onto a huge TV hit, will develop a live-action TV series involving Marvel characters as Disney continues to make the most out of its $4 billion acquisition of the superhero factory. It hasn’t been determined whether the series Whedon will work on will be the Avengers-themed drama Marvel and ABC already have in the works. Iger didn’t mention a release date for Avengers 2, or provide its official title, but we are probably looking at 2015.

The announcement comes just a few weeks after Whedon told an audience at Comic-Con that he was still undecided about directing a sequel, but of course nobody believed him. The Avengers has grossed $1.46B since it was released in May — $616.8M of that from domestic venues — making it the third top grossing film of all time. Not only that; it was a damn good superhero film with plenty of action and the funny and clever dialogue that is Whedon’s signature.

While Disney didn’t say specifically how much the film contributed to its earnings in the quarter that ended in June, it notes in an SEC filing that the film was “primarily” responsible for a 25% increase in theatrical distribution revenue to $834M. It certainly has vanquished any doubts about whether Disney overpaid for Marvel.

51 Comments

This is great news for nerds everywhere. And judging by Whedon’s comic history a TV show will be better suited for his story-lines.

Marvel Historian • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Excellent, still waiting to hear back from the moron that claimed Joss Whedon’s script was garbage before the first movie came out.

lethargic • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Just because it made money doesn’t mean it wasn’t garbage. I’ve heard better and more realistic dialogue in Ed Wood movies.

wowzas • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Yeah agreed. I think I laughed out loud at this comment…you thought the script was anything but garbage? When did fanboys turn into such pushovers?

Jeffmc2000 • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

You Nolanites sure know when to come crawling out of the woodwork.

firebrand • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Well I’ll be. Disney went up and did something RIGHT for a change!

K • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

*preys under bated breath* Heroes for Hire, Heroes for Hire, Heroes for Hire, Heroes for Hire.

Non-Hollywood Guy • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Great news. Joss is a great writer and director that deserves all the success he gets. Can’t wait to see what he comes up with for both projects.

Non-Hollywood Guy • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Although I do hope that the start date for the Avengers sequel will be far enough away that he’ll still have time to do Dr Horrible 2 first. Otherwise it will be another 4 years before we get to see it if at all

Potato • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Me too! ALthough last it was mentioned he had a storyline and some songs written so hopefully he’ll have the time before he has to jump back in (although seeing as he filmed a shakespeare movie between production and post production time might not be too big an issue)

that guy who brings up the thing just when • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Dr. Horrible is a non-union production scheduled to air on the CW, with nary a complaint. Joss Whedon gets to have his cake and eat it too.

Non-Hollywood Guy • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Joss has said in interviews that pretty much everyone on the cast and crew was a profit participant. Seeing as it has made over $3 million and cost only $200,000 I’m pretty sure everyone that worked on it was well rewarded financially.

Harry • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

It is amazing we’re living in a time when Joss has the biggest film of the year. For such a gifted writer, he’s sure gotten the shaft for many years.

Tommy • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

I have to agree with you! If you had told me 10 years ago this was happening I would have called you a liar, but its great to see someone of this level of talent finally move upwards to where he belongs.

I have to say though as much as I enjoyed “The Avengers” I’m more excited about this TV Series than the sequel – Whedon’s Television shows are unparalleled in terms of quality, depth and character development.

[a] proxy • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

And I couldn’t agree more with this statement. Buffy, Firefly, and hell even Dollhouse were all quality programming.

Jason P • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Best news I have read today. I am more exited about the TV show than the Avengers sequel.

ella • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

And why wouldn’t he? He knocked the first one out of the park!

Francis • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Buffy wasn’t a huge hit on TV. It was a hit for WB then UPN, but if you look at the numbers it brought in it would have been canceled by the big three pretty quickly and Fox might have let it hang around for 2 seasons. But on WB and UPN it’s numbers were solid and the best they could ask for. I’d say Buffy was a huge cult hit. I watched it religiously until the character graduated high school. Also WB did a great marketing job making you think that everyone was watching it. Of course, I lived in LA then so all the sound & fury was cranked up to 11. Now, before I get flamed, I’m not knocking the solid work Weadon has done. I was a naysayer when he was announced as the director on the first Avengers, but man… I was proven wrong. It was a really fun summer movie. I’m looking forward to Avengers 2.

like whatever • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Plus the original film is a cult classic and does NOT take a back seat to the TV series – the two aren’t very similar in tone and probably wouldn’t work vice versa.

Marvel Historian • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

It’s funny how things have changed. A year ago people like the elitists and the media were calling Whedon the cheap choice for a project like this. Oh well, I guess attitudes like people change.

Nards • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Awww my little boy is all grown up!

K squared • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

**adds to those prayers!!**

Dippy • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Firefly, firefly, firefly !!!!!!!!!
Who’s kicking themselves now:))

[a] proxy • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

In Joss Whedon, we trust.

Team Disney • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

We had to threaten him with lifetime hard labor slavery at our China Disneyland to get him to do this sequel. He wanted too much money so we had to play hardball with him. Nobody takes advantage of Disney. We take advantage of everyone. And if they still refuse to do what we want when we want we make them an offer they can’t refuse. Once this was made clear to Joss he was happy to sign our contract, if he refused he’d already be in China digging ditches with the rest of our slaves. ;)

A. Chang • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Warner should revisit his Wonder Woman script that they declined.

Ksb36 • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

It wasn’t a script. It was a detailed outline of what he wanted to do with the character of WW and possible story for a film. WB treated him like crap. They can go suck eggs, now.

verse nurse • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Joss spent two years working on that “outline”.

Ksb36 • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

From the Onion AV Club interview shortly after he was let go by Warner’s:
JW: I honestly don’t know. I had a vision and they didn’t seem to respond to the vision. I asked what it was that they wanted and Joel Silver said “I don’t know.” At first it was great, like “hey, they’re letting me run with it.” But then I figured out it was like “Firefly” – they were letting me run with it because they didn’t like any of it. There was really no feedback because nobody knew what it was I wasn’t giving them. I asked them point blank, because I’m always adaptable and collaborative. It seemed like nothing landed with them at all. It was clear that was happening because they said “Instead of your next draft, just give us an outline.” Give us an outline means “we don’t want your next draft.” An outline never reads well. I needed to do it anyway, because the plot was wonky. So I got the plot in shape, all the themes, all the moments, all the things that I knew would work… but they said “This isn’t happening.”

So…I don’t know anything except WB blew it.

Mark • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Happy Dance.

evie • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Joss sucks.

Diane • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

go numfar! do the dance of joy!

Ksb36 • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Well, this absolutely made my day.
When Avengers hit big, I wondered how Disney was going to get Whedon back–because this is not a guy motivated by money. Sure, he’s amenable to making a damn good living but I think at this point, he is doing just fine. There had to be something besides money they gave him for this– creative control, a tv series that some MBA exec is not going to scrap in it’s infancy–or in my dreamworld, a gift of the rights for Firefly that you bought back from those f$&@ers at Fox–and then give him some dough to do something with them.
Disney, you did the right thing. Thanks for that. Now don’t screw it up.

Brinks driver • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Just dropped off a truck full of cash at Whedon’s home. Will be making the same weekly delivery until June 2015…..

Tommy • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

:D

It’s been what 10 years and this made me laugh all over again.

john carter • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

joss is overrated, avengers was disappointing

gps • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Joss is a talented guy, but “The Avengers” was too much Michael Bay for me. All that CGI at the ending of that movie was dreadful & unbearable ( it took me out of the movie) , and , sadly, only Mark Ruffalo gave a great performance in that movie.

johnny • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Says “John Carter” lol.

Joshua • on Aug 7, 2012 4:40 pm

Sometimes I wonder if people even know what “overrated” means anymore.